Below is the full transcript of my interview with Alex Steed, where we discuss the opportunities non-profits have with using social media. The highlights are at Six Ways Non-Profits Can Use Social Media, a recent post at my blog at FastCompany.com.

Rich: I’m here with Alex Steed today. Alex works with Opportunity Maine, a group that tries to promote education for Maine’s future. He’s also an independent candidate for Maine’s House of Representatives.

Alex has a long and robust history in social media marketing. He also works with a lot of non-profits, so today we decided to talk to him a little bit about how not-for-profits can use social media.

Thanks for being here, Alex.

Alex: My pleasure, Rich. Thanks for having me.

Rich: There are obviously a number of ways in which non-profits can use social media. Can you talk a bit about how they could use social media as a tool for community engagement, both for funders and sponsors?

Alex: One thing that is not different at all from the pre-social media era—and this is a bit different from how businesses have come along—is that the non-profit has always been about establishing deep-rooted relationships with its supporters, its supporters being people who are offering funding, or folks who are on the receiving end of what the non-profit is offering, or board members.

Before, the way that we would handle all of that was often through telephone calls or sending cards or emails about what we were up to with regard to what the non-profit was accomplishing. That would be something that would happen and still happens by way of the newsletter every month or so, if even.

As everyone is, especially those who are in the emerging social marketing and social media space, we’re now trying to be in touch with our supporters far more often than that. We’re trying to remind supporters of all levels that we exist on a regular basis, thus in a very rudimentary way we’re competing with Facebook feed space along with every other business and individual who’s trying to get attention there.

Also, we’re using these newer and emerging technologies, such as Foursquare, in the case of, for example, a volunteer opportunity with a non-profit. If we’re doing something here on this day in Portland, where we’re clearing a trail, it might be interesting to use a location-based technology to let people know what sort of opportunities exist within the non-profit or charity.

Rich: Are there certain tools you see that non-profits are looking to more readily than others? Are there some missed opportunities perhaps?

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